Shackle



Jan. 31, 1933. w. A. FLUMERFELT SHACKLE Filed Sept. 21, 1951 E. E. INVENTOR MZZt'am fl flame/7?]:

ATTORNEYS.

vention;

Patented Jan. 31, 1933 UNITED-STATES P oHIo; Ass'IGNoR 'ro THE oo'L MBUs An'ro rears comrenzn CORPORATION or OHIO SHACKLE Application filed September 21', 1931. v SerialiNo. 563,9l3.

The invention relates generally to shackles and it hasparticular relation to ajspring shackle such as that, used. on motor vehicles for connecting an end'of a spring to the ,vehicle chassis. w V y I The principal objects of the invention. are to provide aspring shackle ofinexpensive construction which will operate uniformly and efficiently over a long vperiod oftime without. necessitating any, manualadjust ment or manual take-up to provide a spring shackle which will counteract and practically eliminate side sway of the vehicle chassis ,duringrockingthereof on. theespririgs; to

provid an improved spring shackle in which the pins are mounted inbearings, automatically operating to compensate for'any wear during the lifeof the shackle; and to provide an improved springshackle in which automaticztake-up bearings are utilized for. insuring alarge bearing contact with the pins at all times. if i For a better understanding of the invention reference may tion,wherein: 7 l 4 Fig. l" is a fragmentary view o fa motor vehicleiillustrating the manner in which the vehicle chassis is connected to. a spring .by ineans'ofa shackle, constructed according'to one form of the inven i a Fig; 2 is'an enlarged: view of theshackle shown by Fig. 1, with partsbroken away and shown in-cross section, for the purpos'eof illustratinglthe manner in which the shackle plns are mounted in the bearings therefor;

Fig. .3 is an end View. of the construction shown "by .Fig'. '2, taken from the left end thereof; V V Fig. 4 anv end view ofthe construction shown by Fig. 2, taken from the .right end thereof; i i

- Fig. 5 is a View similar to that shownby Fig. 2 illustrating another form of the in- Fig. 6 is a detail View illustrating the type of bearings utilized in the shackle;

Fig. 7 also is a detail view of the bearing as seen from the right end of the construction shownbyFig.

be had to the accompany: T ing drawing forming a part of. the specificae r F aflvehi'cle .f S pporting the dicated at 10, a sprlng vehicle is illustrated atll, anda shackle connectingone endof the spring'tothe adj acent end of the chassis, is indicated at l2. It will be understood that the shackle primarilyiis for permitting relative movement betweenithe chassis and the spring which. is 3 necessary during movement.ofithevehic1e;fl v Referring now, totFig. 2, the shackle 12" comprisesv spaced links113 and 14:whichTare, substantially identicalin structure although dis osed in opposedi relation. .At each. end,

eac of the links13 and l prov'idd with bearing retaining portion of cup. shape, and preferably the ,bearingrecess ,thus provided is formed in the end of the links by l forging'the; metal and thensvvagingfitwhile cold. Asn ore clearly shown by Figs. and 4, the'recess 1n the cup portion "15 is defined by diametrically opposed semi-cylindricaLvVaIIs 16 andEl 7, withthe axes ofthe cylindrical sun- "Ifaces converg ng toward the baseof the cup.

I-Ience,in; the recess shownganddescribed the diametrically. opposed faces 16 and 17 have the til-r6 throughout their axial length, biit Teach semncylindricalsursame rad us of curvasemi-'oylindrical wall .surfacei's inclined as. a'

whole with respect to "the other. v i

p split bearing is disposed in eachof the recesses, and comprisespartsl9 and 20 having outer cylindri the cylindrical surfacesl6 and l7. defining the recess. Hence the outersurface offeach I of the bearing parts is cylindrical although f cals'urfaces complementary to The bearing parts 19 and *dricallysurfacedrecesses 21 and22, togetherdefining a cylindrical;recess ;complementary to and adapted to receive one end of a shackl .pin indicated at-.23. As initially constructed,

th riiesi e e peed. I ins te at 1 24in Figs. 6 and 7 particularly, to permit which is necessary to take up wear.

appreciated that during such movement of the bearingparts,

movement of the parts toward each other It will be the semi-cylindrical surfaces 21 and 22 defining therecess for receiving'the pin 23, will always be maintained substantially complementary to the pin. At

non onth'e end of the spring. the sleeve portions on the chassis and spring, 7 "feltwash ers indicatedat were mounted on the'fpinsito' gprevent dust and other foreign matter from getting into the bearings at op "the base endof the, recess 1n the bearing the latter are provided with base p0r-; tions 26 and 27 adapted toserve as thrust ,bearings'for the end of the pin. I

,One of thepins 23 connects V chassis to the shackle and ordinarily asleeve the end of the portion on the chassis indicated'at 29, will rep ceive the" pin between the links 13 and 14. Thepin at the opposite end of the shackle cerrespondinglycooperates with asleeve pori ,posite ends ofthepins.

Fsh'ould'be understood that the lock washer ean berrendered 'i nefiective and fthe'bolt and he adii sti a r Lubricant can be suppliedto thebearil 'gs by a means of greasenipples 36 threaded into Qur supp Thelinksfintermediate'their ends are connectedbynieans ofabolt 31 having ahead 32 i engagin a. spring plate 33 at the outer'side of link l4, and a nut .34 ion the" oppositee'n d' 'of the'bOItQat'the outerside of link 13; A look Washer '35 cooperating with the nut 34 and V link l3'prevents turning ofthe nut during operation offthe shackle although; of course,

should it beffound necessary.

"openings in; the base ofeachof theibearing portions; 15 although 'jlubricanti may be ways when desired:

I During operation ot the shacklepthe V 33 serves: as anfautomatic takeup'for' causing movementof the links 13. and'14 toward each other whenever such fnioyementi is 'per- 'initted by wear occurring in; the; bearing.

7 fSince' each pin is of cylindricalcharacterand has cylindrical bearing surface; contact with a thebearingp arts 1 9 and uniform wear at theends of the pins and ofthe' wall surfaces 21 and 22 ofthe bearing parts receivingv the pin, will necessarily o I permitted ccur. :As this wear 'occ urs,"mo'vement of the bearing portions 19 and; 20 t'owardthe axis of jthe and consequently movement of the bearing parts toward thebase'ofthe cup-bearing porti'ons l5 on the links will be permitted.

Suchmovement of the' bearing'parts vwlll j thebearing cup portions toward 7 V along the pins and bearing parts. Q 'jeyl-indrieal"surfaces le V 5 'cup' portion 15 always maintain-fullsurface contaet withfthe-bearing p automatically occur because the'spring 33 will urge the link'sitowa'rd" each other and hence each other e The semind 17 in the 'bearing because such At theend s of .ing of thexvehicle during ether e of'onithe springs. fi'A bolti43fektending automatic take-11p 'Qfo'r mo ied tethe -bearings in other suitable 'thelin'ks always have "rocking movem having'the same radius Additionally the base portions bearingpartsv can-readily be removed and -re-, i

placed and also that: the pins 23" can be re and that such parts will formly for maintaining a placed if necessary, always operate uni tight, although operative, shackle connection. The 'bearing 'provided enables the se} curingof a large bearing contactbetweenthe pins;'thebearingpar to that shown by Fig. 2 in'sof ing parts forvthe pins 23 are coneernedbut the links intermediate their ends 'a'r'e provided ening sleeve 42.1 e V positively maintainthe links in parallel-rela .tion andmore positively prevents side-sway rocking movement through the hub portions 40 i and l4lfan d .The constructionxshownby Fig. 5 is similar ri 'thf flarlts and'the cup portion 15. 7

as" with hubportions 40 andl41 receiving a stiif- I This sleeve 'tendsfto more V I foo I thr'ough'thesleeve 42, has'a'head 44 atone end 1 I engaging the outer endofi hub'4l; and'at its other endis provided with a washer 45' which engages at itsjlouter edges, a coilspifiinglg le H disposed between the washer and the link; 1 A nut 47 01; the outer end of'thepin is used for maintaining. the links together andgla key 48 extending thro gh a en a thepim'nd through v of "the: latter. gether in'the same mannerthat the spring '33 operates in the construction shown :Fig. 1 2.

,From the above description it is"apparent automat c meansi are provided'iorltaking'iup play 'injthefparts which woul'dyotherwise'be e parent that thebearing'parts n each' en'd of 1 h p run 'contactboth-with the pinsv and wi h the bearingcupiportionsgat thesends of the rlinksregardless of any wear present because of wejarl' lvloreover;

in the parts, and that 'the'bea'ring p arts ina-y of the shackle renderedpractic'ally indefinite} v v It is also apparent that the parts c'an be than: plll Wlll be utactured inexpensively an hencethe cost of. producing the shackle reducedjaccordingly;

the nut prevents accidental turning i The spring 46 serves as an ving the links to-I.

' that a; shackle] has been: provided in "which be replaced if necessary 'andhencetheflife V I Providing a shackle which always maintains an. operativelv tight connection betweeng'the ,vehicle chassis and'ithe spring is extremely advantageous because it increasesthe efiiciency of operation {of the. vehicle; avoidsi u'n desirablemovement of the] latter during; its

, a t nde o d a ne m 11 a1 adgustments that usuallywereinecessary 1 with respect to well knownshackleconstrue} ".1 t ons. The fact that the bearing 'coiitactbe 7 1 tween the parts is large and always main tained substantially constant regardless of wear in the connection, causes the shackle to be highly efiicient in operation for the purposes for which itis utilized.

V Although'certain forms of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to'those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims. A

I claim p 1. A shackle comprising a pair of spaced links having laterally directed openings 1n the end portions thereof, each opening being defined by converging surfaces, each of which has uniform transverse cross sectional-con tour to provide a uniform wedging surface, a plurality of bearings in each opening having outer surfaces respectively correspond ing to the surfaces defining the opening, and having inner complementary bearing surfaces, a pin disposed in the openings at each end of the links and having surfaces cooperating with the inner bearing surfaces, and means for drawing the links toward each other.

2. A shackle comprising a pair of spaced links having laterally directed openings" in the end portions thereof, each opening being defined by converging surfaces, each of Which has uniform transverse cross sectional contour to provide a uniform wedging surface, a plurality of bearings in each opening, having outer surfaces respectively corresponding to the surfaces defining the opening, and having inner complementary surfaces, a pin disposed in the openings in each end of the links and having surfaces cooper'atingwith the inner bearing surfaces, and means resiliently urging the links toward each other.

' 3. A shackle comprising a pair of spaced links having laterally directed openings in the end portions thereof, each opening being defined by converging surfaces, each ofwhich has uniform transverse cross sectional contour to provide a uniform wedging surface,

a plurality of hearings in each opening, hav-' ing outer surfaces respectively correspond ing to the surfaces defining the openings, and having inner complementary surfaces, a pin disposed in the openings in each end of the links and having surfaces cooperating with the inner bearing surfaces, and resilient means connecting the links intermediate their ends for resiliently drawing the links toward each other.

' 4. A shackle comprising a pair of spaced 7 links having laterally directed openings in the end portions thereof, each opening being defined by converging surfaces, each of which has uniform cross sectional contour to provide a uniform wedging surface, a plurality of bearings in each opening having outer surfaces respectively correspondingto the surfaces defining the opening an!" having inner cylindrical complementary surfaces, a pin disposedinthe openings in-each end of the links and having cylindrical surfaces cooperating with the cylindrical inner bear- 1m surfaces, and means for "drawing the links toward each other. g r

5. A shackle comprising a pairiofspaced links having laterallydirected openingsiin the end portions thereof, each opening being G defined by converging surfaces, each of which hasxuniform transverse cross sectional-contour to provide uniformwedging surfaces, a plurality of hearings in each opening ha'ving outer surfaces respectively corresponding to the surfaces defining the opening, and having inner complementarysurfaces, a pin disposd in the openings in each end ofthe linksand having surfaces cooperating with the 1 inner bearing surfaces,,meansat the remote ends of the bearings at opposite'ends of the pin serving as thrust bearings for the ends. of the pins, and means for drawing thev links toward each other.f I (SQA shackle comprising a pair.ofspacedf" links having laterally directed; openings in i the. end portions thereof, each opening being defined by converging surfaces, each of which has uniform transverse cross'sectional contour,v to provide llIllfOIll'l wedging surfacesa plurality of bearings in each opening,hav-

ing outer surfaces respectively corresponding to; the surfaces defining the openings, and having inner complementary cylindrical surfaces, a pin disposed in the openings: at the H00 ends of the links and having-cylindricalsurfaces corresponding to the cylindricalbearing surfaces, means at the'remote endsof the bearings at oppositeends ofthe pin serving as thrust bearings I other. a u

7. 5A shackle-comprising a pair ,of spaced links having openings in .the end portions thereof,.each of said op enings being, defined by wall surfaces converging towardio'ne end of the opening, a plurality of bearings in each of the openings, each bearing having an outer surface adapted to cooperate witha wall, surface defining the links toward each openings being defined by cylindrical wall 7125 7 surfaces having .rality of bearings mounted in each of the openings and 'sponding to the cylindrical wall surfacesdefining the; openings, a pin extending betweenfi angularlyrelated axes, a plu-.

having outer surfacescorrefor the end of the piinand means for drawing the: links 7 toward each opening, said wall surface and bearing surface conforming regardsuch openings, a dfimo i I faces converging toward the base of the cup,

-andawayfrorn the base of the cup, a pin eX- j I, 1cc

the-links at each end and having its ends supfaces complementary respectively .to the inportedin'the bearings, andmeans for drawnerwall surfacesdefining'the side wallv of ring the links toward each other; the opening .in each link, said surfaces on 9: A shackle comprising spaced links each the pin and link conformingfregardless of of which has bearing cup portions at oppomovement "of the. pin and bearing element site endsysaid portions on the respective links longitudinally in the openings; and means at one end of the shackle having their open for drawing'the links towardeach otherk q Xpart'sdisposed adjacent, the innerside wall 1 WILLIAM Al FLUMERFELT..; v 1 s urfaces of each cupbeing defined by sur- V I nil-'1" V a pair of bearings disposed in each bearing portion and having outer surfaces complementary respectively to'the inner wall sur- 7 faces-defining the cup,-said cup wall r a g tsurfacesl-and the bearing surfaces conforma so 'ing regardless of movement of the bearings longitudinallytoward or away from the base "of the cup, a pin extending between the links 7 at eachend thereof and havingits ends supported in the bearings, and means for. draw- I i )v -ing the-links toward each other.= p or r-10."iA shacklecomprising apairof spaced -::links,'"each ofwhichrhas cupzshaped bearing portions at opposite cends; the bearing cup V '2 ?Portionsoftherespectivelinks atone'el d of 5" Y v 59% V thepshackle having their open parts disposed c. adjacent, the innersidewallof each cup being definedby surfaces converging toward the base of'the cup, a pluality of b'earings 1 mineach 0111 having outer wall surfaces c n- 7 I r 7 77 V verging respectively toward the base of the 'cup,1thewall surfaces and bearing surfaces lconforming at all times regardless of longi-u I 'tudi'nal inovem'ent of the bearings toward" tending between the links at each end thereof having its ends supported in the bearings,

*meanson said bearings serving as thrust bearingsfor the endsof the pin, and means 5 fordrawingthe-links toward eachother. 1 i g f 7 w ll.A shacklecomprisinga pair of spaced 7 v links having laterally directed openingsin the end 'portions thereof, eachopening being 1 a defined by conyerging;surfaces, ea'ch of' contour, a plurality'of distinct and separate "beari ngs disposed'in each opening incircum- V ferentially-spaced relation and having outer 7 surfaces complementary respectively to the said convergingsurfaces 1n the openings and I the outer surfaces on the bearings respective- 'ly, conformingiregardless of movement of the v bearings longitudinally of the opening; a pin "f inner converging surfaces 'lnvthe opening, I j i i 51 15 5iwhichhas uniform transverse cross-sectional d c A V 1 l -10' extending between the links ateach endvand f I Y g 1 having} its ends supported in the'bearings, c and means for drawing the links together.

"12. Ashackle comprising spaced links, ea'chhaving laterally directed openings in its f endsytheinner'side wall of each opening-'be= p I I it p i ringde'fi ned' surfaces converging toward one lateral end of the opening; pin extend- 'ing'between theendsof the links and pro-V jectingi'iintoithe openings, a b'earing'element o5 onea'ch'endof-the piriQandhavihg outersur I I I f w 

